9 September 2010 Mark Sheehan, guitarist with The Script, died in April 2023, only six months ago as I write this. The Script's brand of U2-influenced earnest, melodramatic, stadium-sized soft rock has been hugely successful, and 'For The First Time'—whose video stars Eve Hewson—is on-brand in that regard. It's not a genre of music that … Continue reading The Script – ‘For The First Time’
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Dickie Rock – ‘Come Back To Stay’
28 February 1966 Engagement and gamification are not new concepts; the unlikely vanguard of these multimedia strategies was Ireland's 1966 Eurovision entry. Dickie sings "come back to stay" and you can immediately jump in to finish the rhyme-cliche, "stray", which he delivers about half an hour later in this tired, bland, watery ballad. Likewise, "true" … Continue reading Dickie Rock – ‘Come Back To Stay’
Nancy Sinatra – ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin”
21 February 1966 Everyone's favourite Batman is the '60s TV show, not the recent-day notiony auteur films, right? I mention it here because I fear 'These Boots Are Made For Walkin'', like classic Batman, is dismissed as camp, whimsical Austin Powers fancy-dress fodder, when in fact it's smart, funny, slyly subversive, and far more enduring … Continue reading Nancy Sinatra – ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin”
Katy Perry – ‘Teenage Dream’
2 September 2010 Party-anthem EDM-pop beds in for 2010 and beyond. Following in the designer loafers of designer loafers Flo Rida, David Guetta and Taio Cruz, here again is Katy Perry, America's sweetheart of the spring-break mechanical-bull rodeo. 'Teenage Dream' aims less for saucy-postcard and more schoolgirl-diary, or at least a grown-up's contrivance of same: … Continue reading Katy Perry – ‘Teenage Dream’
Doc Carroll with The Royal Blues – ‘Old Man Trouble’
7 February 1966 Doctor, doctor, I'm having old man trouble! Leaky bladder, liver spots, and... who are you again? Doc Carroll wasn't a qualified medical professional, so if you've been affected by the issues raised in 'Old Man Trouble' please see a registered GP. (In true Irish style, Doc Carroll got his nickname because his … Continue reading Doc Carroll with The Royal Blues – ‘Old Man Trouble’
Larry Cunningham and The Mighty Avons & Strings – ‘Lovely Leitrim’
24 January 1966 Ireland's 1966 number ones include eleven Irish singles by eleven different Irish acts, making it by far the most successful year for Irish acts topping our charts. If that suggests a new-found '60s national self-confidence or cosmopolitan swagger, let me pull the handbrake straight away by reminding you that this is still … Continue reading Larry Cunningham and The Mighty Avons & Strings – ‘Lovely Leitrim’
Taio Cruz – ‘Dynamite’
26 August 2010 Oh, so they were making generic US whoop-holler EDM for the Tesco piped music in 2010, were they? (Genuine question: at that time I was still living in France, where all my local supermarkets played uncensored versions of the sweariest US and UK chart hits.) To call 'Dynamite' EDM-by-numbers implies it goes … Continue reading Taio Cruz – ‘Dynamite’
The Beatles – ‘Day Tripper’ / ‘We Can Work It Out’
19 December 1965 I find the 'Day Tripper' riff useful for tuning a guitar. Otherwise, I've never really warmed to this particular Beatles hit. The clunky chorus pay-off of "To find out / And I found out!" has the same this'll-do anti-energy as their other occasional hits-to-order, like 'Can't Buy Me Love' and 'Help!'. Snazzy … Continue reading The Beatles – ‘Day Tripper’ / ‘We Can Work It Out’
The Seekers – ‘The Carnival Is Over’
5 December 1965 The tune is trad. arr. of the Russian folk variety. However, the lyrics of 'The Carnival Is Over' are by a Dionysius 'Dion' O'Brien trading as Tom Springfield and indeed a brother of Dusty. You'll recall from my encomium on the magnificent 'What Have I Done To Deserve This?' how Mother Springfield … Continue reading The Seekers – ‘The Carnival Is Over’
Flo Rida ft. David Guetta – ‘Club Can’t Handle Me’
5 August 2010 Flo Rida, like an anti-intellectual faction of The Black Eyed Peas, and David Guetta, court jester to the crass blingerati partying while the world economy burned: between them, the ambient noise of our 2009-10 charts. Now, in that era's depressingly familiar synergy of inanity, they've joined forces for a 'collab'. And when … Continue reading Flo Rida ft. David Guetta – ‘Club Can’t Handle Me’
